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Spring Fever: Love is in the Air

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The birds are chirping, bees are buzzing, and spring flowers and spring romance are about to be in full bloom. Love is in the air and everyone is catching spring fever. What causes this sudden upswing in romance? It could be that warmer spring weather puts everyone in a good mood, or at least requires less clothing. It could have something to do with body chemistry, the body’s backlash to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or our physiological response to the abundance of new growth in the world around us.

Spring Fever – Part of a Real Medical Condition

“In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,” said Alfred, Lord Tennyson in his famous 1842 poem Locksley Hall. But what causes these thoughts of love? According to prominent psychotherapist and researcher Dr. Norman Rosenthal from the National Institute of Mental Health, spring fever is driven by the body’s reaction to its changing environment; a reaction to the increased amount of spring sunlight.

Rosenthal, the first doctor to describe the concept of SAD, said in an interview with the New York Times that as the available sunlight increases – particularly morning sunlight – people who suffer from SAD during the winter months will begin to feel better, even giddy. But is this giddiness spring fever?